In order to provide for delivery of a message, for example, a text message, short message, and/or page, to a termination telephony device, a service provider associated with the recipient must be determined. For example, a sender of a message employs an initiation service provider to initiate the message to the recipient. Where the initiation service provider employed by the sender is not the service provider associated with the recipient, the initiation service provider automatically provides for delivery of the message to the service provider associated with the recipient. In order to provide for delivery of the message, the initiation service provider must determine the service provider associated with the recipient.
For example, InphoMatch (InphoMatch, Inc. 4511 Singer Court, Suite 300, Chantilly, Va. 20152, http://www.inphomatch.com) comprises a list of service providers and associated user addresses, such as a phone number and/or a Universal Resource Indicator (“URI”). Inphomatch employs the user address of a message to determine a service provider. Inphomatch automatically provides for delivery of the message to the service provider without interaction from the sender. Where the initiation server provider automatically delivers the message, the sender is restricted from interacting with any services (e.g., inserting animation, pictures, and/or voice) that are available for delivery of the message by the service provider associated with the recipient. As one shortcoming, the restriction from interacting with the services that are available for delivery of the message by the service provider associated with the recipient limits the services available to the sender for delivery of the message.
Thus, a need exists for providing an identifier of the service provider associated with the termination telephony device to the origination telephony device.